the keeper
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: [AU] Taiki is always getting in over his head, so Akari can't find herself too surprised to discover the stubborn anaemia that won't stay off his blood tests has a secondary cause. She should be surprised it's vampires... But perhaps the right term is to say she's enthralled.
1. 1

**A/N:** Written for the:

Ficletchap Competition  
Diversity Writing Challenge, h10 – a multichap with at least six chapters  
Advent Calendar 2016, day 22 – write an AU

* * *

 **the keeper**  
1.

Taiki is always getting in over his head, so Akari can't find herself too surprised to discover the stubborn anaemia that won't stay off his blood tests has a secondary cause.

Of course, running himself into the ground because it's the normal thing to do probably doesn't help matters, but orange juice and kale smoothies don't seem to be helping all that much and Akari's tempted to strap him to the bed the next time they go to the doctors because either something's wrong or Taiki just needs to slow down.

Turns out it's just Taiki being Taiki and not telling her about it.

Though she can't blame him for not mentioning he's a vampire snack as well. She can't say she's happy about it, though, especially when he's got a thin trail of blood from his arm running into some other girl's lap.

Girl with fangs and lips still stained with blood.

She might be inhumanly gorgeous, but _still…_

 _Focus, Akari. That's Taiki with blood on him. And that girl with blood on her lips and you can guess who's it is._

Her eyes shoot back to the girl who holds his arm in her lap. 'It's okay,' she laughs. 'If we kill him, we'll have to find someone else that will keep our secrets.'

There's a distinct lack of urge to pull out a heavy textbook to bash someone's head in with, and that has Akari concerned… but she can't do much about it without some driving force.

In any case, she's pretty sure the girl's teasing. _Pretty_ sure.

'It's not exactly hard to do,' another snorts – male – and Akari spots him only now, leaning against the back door. 'We've got mountains of blackmail on people with much more blood than this loser.'

'But it's not as tasty,' the girl grins, 'or as nutritious. Nothing beats the kind and innocent strength of starry-eyed youth.'

Akari grimaces at that. Not only were they chatting about the taste of Taiki's blood but Taiki isn't innocent or starry-eyed. He only looks it because he's asleep.

'He's an idiot,' the boy by the back door snaps, 'but his blood does taste better than those losers.'

'Such high standards,' the girl teases.

Akari's eyes flitter between the pair.

'Ah, we've forgotten ourselves,' the other girl laughs. 'But what should we do with you?'

'I'm Taiki's friend,' Akari offers… because if they need Taiki, then maybe they won't do anything to her. Though they don't look threatening, really. No claws out, and girl's licked the blood clean off her fangs and lips now and there's only the trickle down Taiki's arm, and the boy's got his arms crossed and looks more grumpy than anything. 'That could get infected.'

The girl looks at the blood. 'Ah, true. We've got strong serum compared to humans but it's not a hundred percent.' She sets Taiki's arm down and gets up. 'I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere, Akari-chan.'

Akari blinks. How does the vampire know her name?

The reasonable answer is Taiki. The unreasonable one is that those rumours of vampires being able to mind-read is true.

Well, better that than the rumour that some humans in society are actually genetically modified clones used specifically for feeding vampires. Because this would make Taiki vampire-cattle instead of a live human being and she can't quite wrap her head around it.

'Is the whole genetically-modified clones farmed for vampire food thing true?' she blurts out.

The boy, still leaning behind the door, snorts. 'If it were, we wouldn't have to be so secretive about getting a bite to eat.'

Akari groans. That's the second time, and these guys have extended lifespans, don't they?

'More like reduced.' The boy snorts again. 'Humans make up a lot of crap, you know, and are made up of a lot of crap as well. Blood's just not as pure as it used to be, and it's killing us slowly.'

'Well, oxygen kills humans slowly, though we kind of can't live without it either,' Akari offers… then snorts herself. Is she trying to comfort a vampire whose name she doesn't even know and who she caught feeding off her best friend?

'Unfortunately.' The boy doesn't snort this time, at least.

Taiki doesn't wake up either, which is good because while they haven't been particularly loud, they're not exactly quiet either.


	2. 2

**the keeper**  
2.

'…so what now?' Akari wonders, when the silence drops to awkward levels.

'Now we figure out if we can trust you or drain you dry,' the boy replies carelessly, finally – finally! – moving away from the door.

Akari freezes in place at that, because maybe the girl was teasing earlier but he sounds dead serious.

 _Uurgh, didn't mean that pun._

The boy turns around when he realises she's not following. 'What?' he asks. He looks her over, then rolls his eyes. 'Oh, come on. We're not bloodthirsty maniacs.'

Akari's desire to bash someone over the head with her textbooks returns, and it's perfect timing because a stranger shouldn't make careless jokes like that and these two are the reason Taiki's so tired all the time –

– Taiki's habit of overworking himself notwithstanding, of course.

The boy glares at her and rubs his head where a trickle of blood has run down.

 _Whoops,_ Akari thinks sheepishly. Her body's apparently run ahead of her thoughts.

Though don't hits with blunt objects bruise more often than they bleed?

'Not even an apology,' the boy mutters, 'though I guess you held back when we first met.'

'You two did have it coming,' Akari agrees. 'But sorry anyway. I didn't mean to draw blood.'

'Sure.' The boy rubs a bit more at the wound, until Akari's yanked his hand away and stuck a bandaid there instead. She's got a decent first-aid kit in her sports bag, along with a pillow that doesn't appear necessary because someone's left one under Taiki's head already.

The girl comes out again, with a tray of cake and some sort of green shake.

 _Yuck, green. Must be kale or something._

'Sorry,' the girl laughs, 'but it's full of things to help replenish the blood. Or the shake is. The cake's more for taste, really.'

'More because Yuu loves cooking and always fills the fridge,' the other boy mumbled.

The girl just shrugs and sets the tray down. 'It's polite, anyway. And Taiki did mention your sweet tooth. Besides, sweet stuff's good for a quick boost.'

So it was Taiki who told them her name after all. She's going to skin him for being kept in the dark about all this, though.

She knows, of course, the vampires exist. No-one in Tokyo doesn't know about the cases of unexplained amnesia and the bodies that occasionally turn up in the red light district or the thefts from the blood bank.

Of course, no-one in Tokyo doesn't know about how people crossing roads in the dark are suddenly knocked off their feet with screeching tires just seconds away from having made them roadkill, or the times where girls are saved from being molested on the streets by someone with red eyes and bared teeth.

They're not bad, in the end. They're not good either. They just are, like humans. Society's come a long way like that. They haven't come very far at all, though, in accommodating them. No means of getting blood unless it's through stealing or from somebody directly. No-one's set up a feeding warehouse or something like that, or stock bags of blood on the shelves that they can buy with hard-earned cash.

Akari still doesn't know how Taiki's found these two – three? – vampires, but it's just like Taiki to offer his own blood so they don't have to resort to illegal means anymore.

'Have some cake.' The girl pushes a smaller plate with a healthy slice on it towards her. Another plate goes to the boy, who digs in without preamble, and she's carefully cutting a third slice for herself –

No, wait. She puts that plate aside. Most be for Taiki. The fourth one she sets on her lap.

'How long till he wakes up?' Akari asks.

Maybe she's taking it for granted: their non-aggression, and their hostly, almost kindly, manner. Or maybe they just are nice and unfortunate to live in a world that uses them but doesn't accept them.

They're both pale, and they're both tense even in what should be a safe place for them.

She can't regret her "invasion" though. Someone needs to keep track of Taiki, after all.

The girl shrugs, fixing the dress strap that slides down her shoulder. 'Taiki looked more tired than usual, today.'

'Well, it was a double-whammy with the soccer and basketball clubs,' Akari sighs. The girl was right. Sugar really is energising – and it helps that Akari has a proud sweet-tooth.

The girl smiles around her own spoon. 'He doesn't know how to say no, which has it's own charm, but –'

'It's stupid,' the boy snaps.

'Sit down,' the girl snaps back. 'You didn't drink any, even after he asked you to.'

 _He hasn't?_ Akari takes a closer look. He does look paler than the girl.

'They all taste different,' the girl continues. 'Willing blood, unwilling blood. Kind blood, cruel blood. Love is the nicest and most fulfilling and the one we need least of but we're not all fortunate to fall in love.' She laughs shortly. 'And some are too stubborn to accept it's love.'

She's looking at the boy as she says this. He scowls and shovels cake into his mouth.

Akari just stares. 'Oh, you're Kiriha.' Except Taiki doesn't love Kiriha, as far as he's told her. He doesn't even like him (which is rare because Taiki doesn't very often not like people…)

Of course, she knows he's wrong about that in this case, but she didn't realise it was _love._

'Taiki never told us you're cute when you blush,' the girl says suddenly.

She blushes harder. 'And you are?'

Now the girl blushes: a pink that goes nicely with her dress and beret. 'Oh, that was terribly rude of us. I'm Nene. Amano Nene.'


	3. 3

**the keeper**  
3.

Taiki wakes up. The aforementioned Yuu (who turns out to be Nene's little brother) returns from kendo club activities. Akari scolds Taiki. Taiki and Nene scold Kiriha. Taiki and Kiriha tussle until Taiki's feeling dizzy again and Akari just watches, because Taiki isn't that passionate with anyone.

Maybe Nene has a point. She's not going to ask, though. Taiki's like a fourth little brother to her and there's something that's embarrassing about knowing about their love lives. Never mind he's thirteen and she's twelve and her biological brothers are all in elementary school with her and none of them have (or should have) any love lives to speak of.

The feeding vampires thing though… She's definitely going to talk about that.

'It's a bit of a long story,' Taiki confesses. 'You'll be surprised how little some vampires know about their own biology and the similarities and differences between them and humans. I mean, it differs from person to person, but they're not invincible or heartless or the bad guys in the movies...'

'Of course they aren't.' Akari rolls her eyes. 'Otherwise they wouldn't turn the night streets of Tokyo into a much safer place, would they? Though as far as their feeding goes, there's nowhere convenient for them so they're kind of stuck.'

Taiki shrugs. 'Convenient if they can trust a human and know how to feed without accidentally turning them.'

Akari freezes at that. The thought hadn't crossed her mind before but now it's there. 'Are you –'

Taiki shakes her head.

Akari breaths a sigh of relief… before punching his arm. 'Really, you'll give me a heart attack one of thsese days.'

'But I couldn't leave –'

'– them alone. Yeah, I know.'

'But that's what happened with the Amanos, you know.'

She stops walking. That smiling girl and the quiet little boy… Which one was first, she wonders?

'Yuu-kun,' Taiki explains. 'They never told me the details, but he was turned first. And he was scared, at the beginning. Terrified. But then he thought he was stronger now that he'd turned. That he could protect his sister, and maybe things would be better for them after all. And Nene would do anything for her brother, and didn't even pause to think of the risks. They didn't know the risks.'

'So he turned her.' Akari's not sure if her expression shows pity or not, but that's what she feels: a deep welling pity that sits in her belly. 'That must have hit him hard.'

'It did.' He shares her look of pity on his own expression. 'Funny, back then it was Kiriha practically forcing him to feed. And now Kiriha's not…' He scratches his bandage.

'Kiriha sounds smart,' Akari comments. 'A bit on the ruthless side, maybe, but smart.'

'Yeah, he is that. Life's a battlefield and he's looking to survive it, no matter who he steps on along the way.'

Something about that doesn't quite make sense – and Akari almost smacks her forehead when she realises what. 'Then why is he with them?'

'Seems like he likes Nene.' Taiki shrugs. 'He listens to her, anyway.'

Akari snorts at that. Nene and Taiki have their wires crossed, apparently. Now all she needs is for Kiriha to tell her that those two have a crush on each other and she's got a nicely drawn triangle.

'Doesn't like me, anyway. Says I'm too soft.'

'And yet he drinks your blood.'

'And yet he drinks my blood.'

Kiriha isn't going to be easy to figure out, Akari thinks. At least, not through Taiki who isn't often biased but plainly is in this case. And she can clearly see what it is: that quality of putting oneself before everything else… and maybe that's the reason Taiki thinks Kiriha doesn't like him as well.

But Kiriha's decision not to take blood that day… Surely that's just upfront concern.

'You need to look after yourself,' Akari scolds. 'Other people depend on you, so you need to be healthy for them, right? Kiriha wouldn't have to go hungry if you hadn't fainted from Nene, right?'

'Right, right.' And it's the truth, but Akari knows Taiki just can't say no to anyone. That's her job, fiddling with his schedule and making sure it's kept to humane levels and making sure he's keeping in prime condition himself (elsewise he'll leave the house without breakfast or lunch because he's that short on time).

And now she has to factor in feeding three vampires too. This is going to be impossible, she thinks, with the busy season in terms of sporting clubs and they're the more exhausting ones for Taiki…

Unless they feed from her instead. She stands on the sidelines, after all. Her blood's not getting gobbled up by sweating muscles like his…

 _Okay, that mental image is a little gross._

Still, the idea's not bad, she thinks.


	4. 4

**the keeper**  
4.

Nene is grateful. Yuu is reluctant at first but soon follows his sister.

Kiriha is surprisingly resistant. 'What's wrong with Taiki?'

'He's busy.' Akari shrugs. 'Overworked with all the clubs in the finals this year and he doesn't know how to say no to anyone. And I can't play on the boys teams – or even as well as Taiki can for any sport at all – so this is all I can do.'

'So you can't say no either,' he snorts.

'Who do you think keeps his schedule at least somewhat manageable?' she fires back. 'I cut it any more, he'll start fighting me too.'

Kiriha snorts again. 'So you're his keeper.'

'You can do better?' she asks.

'…that's a trick question,' he scowls. And Akari had half-hoped he'd fall for it. 'He's stubborn about grinding himself raw, and for what? What's he done in his life that's worse than ripping your family to bits in a bloodlust?'

And he says that in such a matter-of-fact tone that Akari can't help but stare at him. 'Bloodlust?' she manages, finally.

He sighs. 'Didn't mean to say that.'

'Too late now.' Why is her mouth even moving? Why isn't she running right out the door? Ripping people or a family apart is not nice. At _all._

'Bloodlust is pretty cliché, as far as tales about vampires actually being true go. Basically, we smell blood and lose control. Not any sort of blood, like papercuts or what-not, but blood full of emotions. Anger, usually. Our own anger. Or fear. Our instincts have an iron hold on us then.'

'So anger management and we're okay for the most part,' Nene chirps, swooping in with more cake. 'But human and vampires were once one and the same. I suppose you can say that, in certain areas, we lose our restraint more easily. It's like how some girls are on their periods –'

It's funny to see Kiriha – stern, stiff Kiriha – blush bright red at that. Akari's family doesn't, but that's because they're used to her complaining (and it hasn't even been that long).

'So fangs and claws instead of punches that break jaws,' Akari surmises, after she manages to swallow down her laugh. There's no particular reason to antagonise Kiriha. Rather, she wants to see if he and Taiki can get along better, because they both admire and dislike the other and it's a mess, really, without adding Nene's crush theory to the mix.

'Girls have claws regardless,' Kiriha murmurs.

And Akari wonders if that's how Kiriha has joined the Amano siblings. Nene doesn't look particularly threatening, but she has that sort of presence (and looks) that makes people look twice at her. And then there's the cake, courtesy of her brother.

Really, she has trouble believing Nene can't find humans to feed of. Surely drunk men at a bar looking for school-age girls to proposition are easy targets.

But the emotions… They'd explained that before. 'I'm guessing alcohol in blood tastes crap.'

'That, and it's like breathing second-hand smoke: worse than actually drinking from the bottle.' Nene shrugs again. Her dress-strap slips. That's got to be deliberate or else very annoying for her, Akari thinks. 'You're a sharp one, aren't you?'

'Have to be to pin Taiki down.' Akari shrugs herself. Her straps stay firmly in place. 'Of course, times were different twenty years ago.'

'Or a hundred.' Nene laughs. 'We'd have been skewered on crosses and strung with garlic cloves. Not that garlic does anything other than spice up the food.'

'And vampires aren't supernatural beings from another world but people with blood borne infections,' Kiriha scowled. 'At least society's past the whole "it's the second coming of AIDS" thing.'

'Or syphilis. There's too many, really.' Nene shrugs again. The strap slips again. 'And if we were given access to blood like people anaemic for other reasons, we wouldn't have the problems that are still around. Maybe another twenty years.'

'I don't plan on waiting twenty years.'

Akari wonders if that means Kiriha plans to do something about that himself.

'I'm fine with waiting.' Nene, on the other hand, seems to have a different agenda. 'We're fortunate. We have Taiki… and Akari-san. There are more urgent concerns. People and vampires who shouldn't be on the streets, who'll undo all the progress that has happened.'

'It's not that easy,' Akari interrupts – and why is she interrupting? They've clearly argued about this before and they seem to have forgotten she's there. 'Surely. Laws are in place.'

'Laws are not in place,' Kiriha corrects. 'They're state policies, and all it takes is the wrong person in the government to shut them down once and for all.'

 _Okay…_ Akari thinks. That's a really big problem… but what can three kids do about it? 'Please tell me you're not planning to assassinate someone.'

'It was tempting,' Kiriha grumbles… and Akari doesn't know if he's serious or not.

'I have better resources,' Nene shrugs. 'Why risk a new person in the empty spot if we can string the ones already there?'

'Buy the government?' Akari gapes.

Just what has she gotten herself into?


	5. 5

**the keeper**  
5.

At least Akari can take comfort in the fact that she doesn't have much to offer, except her blood. And it tastes sweet, Nene says, so they won't need terribly much of it.

She can't help but notice, though, that she drinks a lot less than Yuu and Kiriha do.

She doesn't ask, though. That'll be awkward, with what Nene had explained before. Does she like Nene? Or is it Nene that likes her? Or is that a myth regarding soulmates as such. Because what twelve and thirteen year olds could know the sort of love people marry for and have families for and, often, sacrifice many precious things for. They're too young and inexperienced for that sort of love, aren't they?

But then maybe age is a relative thing. Her teachers are always saying she's a responsible twelve year old. She has to be, to keep Taiki in line. And the Amanos are orphans. Kiriha's backstory… She knows there's still holes there and… well, as long as he doesn't lose his temper like that around her or Taiki or her family (or the Amano siblings)… or anyone, again, really… But he's so stiff most of the time that he probably knows that himself and tries to uphold it.

He's too stiff. And Taiki's too soft.

They'll make a good pair if they stop facing each other across the table, at least. It's one of those things: go ahead on and they cancel each other out, or go side by side and wind up with more than double the strength.

It's probably a dangerous way of thinking, when they're hanging out with a girl who plans to rewrite the government. Or plans to become an idol, apparently, because she's working hard and learning how to sing and dance and be agile… which explains where Taiki comes in.

Akari, sadly, can't help with any of those things. Her brothers always tell her off for singing in the shower because she's that off-key, and she might be a decent sprinter and have decent muscle strength but she's got two left feet when it comes to dancing or any kind of agility. She can kick a ball fine, but Nene doesn't need to know how to play soccer.

She's more useful to Yuu, who's happy to have someone taste-testing his sweets. And to Kiriha, surprisingly, because they always seem to wind up talking about Taiki and that leads to them all better understanding each other… But Nene's in a league of her own and Akari can only suspect why that bothers her.

'What is it?' Nene asks, one day, as she stretches out on a mat. Neither Kiriha nor Yuu nor Taiki are there, so it's just the two of them. 'Ah, could you help me stretch, too?'

 _Of course._ Akari blinks, before pushing gently on Nene's shoulder-blades so she bends forward a little more. It's the little things like this she can do. She does the same with Taiki, after all. Helps him stretch. Helps keep track of his schedule. Kneads knots out of his muscles.

She moves her hands: feeling Nene's shoulders and then down her spine. _Yep, lots of knots._ Nene yelps when she gives one an experimental rub. 'What was that?'

'Knots,' Akari scolds. 'You're overworking yourself. Once you've done stretching, you're getting on the bed and I'm kneading all of these out of you.'

There's no point telling her to make sure they don't come back. There's no point in telling Taiki, after all.

They finish stretching quietly and then it's to Nene's room. There's a lot more pink than Akari expects (because Akari's wearing more pink every time they've met), but it's neat and tidy and spacious – much bigger than hers. There's a sewing machine on a small table, and books stacked up on the desk. Looks like someone later on in their teens, or even a young adult's, room.

Then again, Nene is looking after Yuu, and most of the time Kiriha too. 'You're really like the mother here, huh,' she says aloud.

Nene sighs and relaxes beneath her. She's stopped kneading, quite by accident… but Nene can do with the break, probably. She's not Taiki who's faced this treatment enough times to be used to it by now. 'I suppose,' she agrees. 'Really, we all do our parts. Yuu does all the cooking because both Kiriha and I are hopeless at it. He does a good deal of the housework as well, because it keeps him indoors, but he's been getting out more often so that's a good thing. Interacting with people again. Going to kendo club. Quarrelling with other vampires.' She laughs at the final thought.

'Quarrelling?' Akari repeats. For a moment, she thinks of wings and claws but real vampires don't sprout wings and she doubts Nene would be laughing if any blood was involved.

'Yeah, there's this girl, Suzuki Airu, who's a bit obsessed with Yuu. Which leads them turning districts into obstacle courses and trying to outsmart each other. She'd lose quite badly every time, until she called in her friends – Mogami Ryouma and Tobari Ren – and now Taiki and Kiriha handle the strategizing for Yuu so they're pretty much evened out.'

'Because putting those three against the others physically would be overkill?' Akari laughs herself. 'They're rivals, then, turning districts into a giant chessboard. Unless this Airu has a crush on Yuu-kun.'

'She does,' Nene huffed. 'But it's Ren who's Yuu's soulmate. Not that either of them are quite ready to admit it.'

Nene is surprisingly well-informed about everyone's soulmates.

 _Wait, that means…_

'You can drink blood from other vampires too?'

'Physically, yes, but practically, no.' Nene's frown is hidden in the pillow, but Akari can hear a hint of it in her voice anyway. 'We wind up injecting more toxin, so the blood doesn't last for very long and makes us sick. Some sort of antibody response.'

They're both distracted when Akari kneads a particularly stubborn knot.


	6. 6

**the keeper**  
6.

Aside from the tiny matter of needing blood like multivitamins, vampires are pretty normal.

That's an illusion Akari's fallen too easily in to. She realises it when she sees Yuu pale as a ghost, and Nene mad for the first time.

There's an old clock maker in a corner of the Koutouku ward at the moment. He moves around, apparently. He's also the reason most of the vampire children in Tokyo are as they are. It's all a big game to him.

But not to the poor desperate children who barely know what they've contracted or how to stop themselves from hurting others. From what Akari's heard on the news, some refuse to drink any blood at all and wind up dead with heart complications within the month. Others overdo it and wind up killing, because no-one's told them that the happy medium is enough for three people at a time without causing any anaemia at all. Akari knows this first hand, just like she knows Taiki's tendency to faint is a culmination of other factors, largely his tendency to overwork himself and forget to eat if Akari or his mother aren't breathing down his neck.

It doesn't take much to spread the word, really. The problem is getting those words to stick but this guy doesn't even try. It's like he doesn't want them to know. It's like he wants the chaos.

'It's all a game to you,' Nene spits.

It sounds like it can be true.

Akari wishes Kiriha is here… But Kiriha will have already punched the guy, probably. Unless he's not familiar with him but she doubts that. Kiriha and Nene know a lot about each other. Just like Yuu and Airu know a lot about each other, after all the times they've turned the nearby districts into their chessboards… But that's different. Nobody ever gets hurt in their games.

It's not like biting innocent and unsuspecting kids, infecting them, and then leaving them to the ignorant and misinformed world to try and find the little seedlings of truth buried somewhere or perish if they don't.

She doesn't have the right to interfere in this, she thinks.

She wonders if the tales of vampires having killer battle skills is true… then realises it doesn't matter. The old guy is older in more ways than one. With any luck, he'll be too old.

He's not. He might use a walking stick but that just means he has a weapon because he's perfectly capable of standing up on knobbed knees. And Nene is good from all her training but she doesn't selectively do martial arts and certainly nothing with a swords. She needs Yuu, at least, with her. Yuu isn't here.

But Akari has done kendo too. Not as much as Taiki but she's been his practice partner. She's been his practice partner for a lot of things. She can get a good hit in, she thinks. She managed to get Kiriha – though that was the element of surprise.

Still, she has the element of surprise going for her here too. She just needs something to strike with. Somebody else's cane… except everyone else probably needs them and she can't see much around to begin with. The old man's tucked his shop away into a good corner. There are people around, but only because they've been attracted by the noise and they've formed a tight ring around the scene. Nobody with canes up front and that's probably to be expected: they can't shove their way through the crowd.

If not the crowd, then the shop.

Ah, there's a broom. She grabs it and swings.

It makes a satisfying cracking noise before vibrations run up her arms and make her teeth grit. And Nene, being somewhat familiar with her impulsiveness by now, recovers much faster than the old man.

It's not enough to bring him down, but at least Nene has the upper hand now.


	7. 7

**the keeper**  
7.

Something attracts the others. Maybe it's just Nene's natural charisma, or some sort of instinct, or maybe it's just the news of two obvious vampires (or maybe just one, because no-one's explicitly said _Nene_ is a vampire in this scene and as long as no-one looks too close…) duking it out in broad daylight.

Yuu shows up, along with a group of three which are probably Airu, Ren and Ryouma. And another boy shows up with hair even crazier than Taiki. And Taiki and Kiriha show up, all scuffed up like they'd already been in a fight. And a few other kids, including one that looks vaguely familiar.

Akari wonders if they're all vampires… except Taiki, of course. Or maybe they just know _of_ vampires. Friends, family, and people who provide the lifeblood they can't otherwise easily obtain. It's like the final boss battle in a RPG game. It's the genesis of vampires in the area – but not of the world. It's not the pox vaccine that will eradicate the virus. It's not a vaccine at all.

It might be senseless. Or it might be closure. It's not her place to decide which of those it'll wind up being. Taiki, too, comes to stand by her. And the vaguely familiar boy – and she realises, then, because he's carrying a kendo sword on his back as well. Maybe it's when she's gone to matches as Taiki's manager. Or maybe it's when they're cheering on Yuu.

Some time has passed, she thinks, since she met the Amanos and Aunoma Kiriha. She hasn't really thought of that before, but it's obvious now. And it's obvious she still knows so little. She hasn't met Yuu's rival-friends, or that kid with the wild hair who's talking excitedly with Taiki (and the silver-haired rival-friend of Yuu'sf or a bit), or the brunet who's talking with the kid with the wild hair…

She's getting distracted, but she assumed the people clustering around her are the humans come to watch the spectacle. Yuu is standing by his sister. And Kiriha, and Yuu's friend-rivals, and a few others she's seeing for the first time. And next to the old man is a somewhat younger man: handsome in the way some adults are despite their age.

Part of the honey trap, Akari thinks. Those two have run a dangerous business and what will a bunch of kids do about it? Will they fight until they've physically ripped the pair apart? Or will they fight, like Nene had wanted to some time ago, with words and policies that, as of yet, don't back them?

It's both, in the end. The others don't interfere with Nene's one-on-one until the younger man jumps in. Then it's plain self-defence and there are too many witnesses for the pair to talk themselves out of once the police come.

It's tricky still, because it's two adults and a bunch of kids, but turning someone into a vampire is a punishable crime. The law's still sketchy there, because what Yuu did to Nene is equally punishable except he's a minor. The consent laws come under "grievous bodily harm." Just like someone can't consent to getting HIV, they can't consent to being infected. But unlike HIV, there's no medication to help keep titres down low. They have to find it themselves: that fragile balance. They have to be willing to search, and understand, and to be on the safe-side try a non-human first. Because it's not murder if you don't kill a human. The laws are made for humans, at the end of the day.

But vampires are still humans, even if they drop down the social rungs. And adults harming kids is one of those things that society will forever frown upon. A double whammy with the consent issue, really: kids can't consent and no-one can consent to grievous bodily harm. As for proving that's the case, it takes some pushing but there are enough humans with parents in useful places (for this circumstance, because their parents brought them into this world after all) to get the ball rolling.

And once the ball is rolling, all it takes is PCR to prove the viral strands came from the same source and a timeline to prove the direction of causality and they have a case.

Though who turned the pair is a question, and who else is out there.

Nene laughs bitterly when they congratulate her. 'After all that talk, I almost get myself thrown in a correction facility. Or jail.'

Can thirteen year olds be thrown in jail, Akari wonders? It doesn't really matter though. No-one wants an idol or a politician with a known criminal record but no-one's going to say Nene started the fight (except those two men and their words don't mean much once the bloods are back).

Still, Akari's surprised and yet not surprised to find Nene being a hothead for once. Everyone's got things that set them off after all, and it's pretty obvious that, for Nene, it's anything concerning Yuu. Akari gets pissed too when something happens to her brothers (including Taiki). They're alike in that sense, except Akari's more liable to smack them overhead with her bag of supplies than Nene is.

'You've got a fanbase for when you debut as an idol,' Akari offers, finally. Because one can look at it from either way, now. It's not Schrodinger's box; it's the opposite, really. It's a load off their chest and they've succeeded in taking a step forward in the process. 'Idol and vampire advocate, right? And one day down the track you can come out as the friendly neighbourhood vampire too?'

She laughs more lightly at that. 'I wouldn't say friendly,' she says, 'but that sounds like a good plan to me.'

'Attractive, then.'

In afterthought, she should have said "charismatic". But her mouth let loose before her brain can stop her.


	8. 8

**the keeper**  
8.

Taiki doesn't get very many opportunities to laugh at Akari that he hasn't somehow caused himself.

Akari rethinks that. She can blame Taiki for this as well, since he's the one who picked up three vampires on top of over-exerting himself in sport clubs that weren't his own, and that's the whole reason Akari had to go looking for him in the first place…

Aside from when he forgot about a commitment he'd made because he was just that tired, and one day she'd leave him to his fate. Though Taiki had a way of making her want to coddle him, and those who aren't being helped by him invariably wind up doing the helping instead. And then, of course, there are the ones he helps and are touched by that help, and go on to help others in return. It's all good and well, the way the cycle of good-will spreads, but most of that ripples away from Taiki. Someone needs to stick around and keep an eye on him. And that someone is her, usually.

Maybe Kiriha will help out, now. They seem to be getting along better, anyway. They've got a mutual understanding now, or they've agreed to disagree or something or other. Akari's not too sure what the situation is and she doesn't need to know. It's got something to do with someone being in trouble, though. Maybe it's Kiriha trying to stop Taiki from jumping into a headlong fight with a certain vampire? It'd be fitting if that's the case. That fight seems to have brought a lot of people together. Vampires they didn't know lived so close to them are now talking with each other, and other human children who knew one or another by association. It's like a support group, jokes a quiet boy. Or a hero club, says the boy with the wild hair.

Turns out he's in Yuu's class, which is a fun fact. Especially since he's a rival of Ryouma's too. It's a small world, apparently.

Sometimes though, it's not small enough. Taiki can laugh at how Akari's blurted out something she hasn't even put into words, but Akari can't. Maybe she could have, looking back, except Nene's dropped a bombshell of a different colour and now it doesn't matter anymore.

'Hong Kong,' Akari repeats. 'You're moving to Hong Kong.'

She nods quietly. The smile that was usually there is absent now. She's not sullen, though. Just inexplicably sad. But she's always been a little sad. She's just hidden it well. Not well enough, though. Yuu knew. And Kiriha. And Taiki… and Akari knew too, of course.

This though… Sure, Nene wants to be an idol… but right now? After the community's drawn a little closer, finally? After they've all gotten some much-needed closure?

'I need to become much stronger than I am now,' Nene explains, 'and I'm not the sort that can direct an army. Kiriha can. Or Yuu. And Taiki will keep them in line, I'm sure. But I'm not the one who can fight battles with my fists and hope to win.'

'You did win,' Akari points out – before realising her own mistake when Nene shakes her head and points out what tipped the scales.

'You can do that.' Nene smiles, and it's a honest smile reserved for family and friends. 'Punch someone in the face and tip the tide, I mean. But my weapons aren't my fists. They're the image I portray, and my words.'

'You'll be a figurehead.' She already knows.

'I'll be a figurehead,' Nene agrees. 'And I can't stay here forever to do it. Yuu will be fine. Yuu will have been fine since he came to an understanding with Airu and the others, probably. I'm the one who dawdled.'

'You're giving Kiriha an army,' Akari points out dryly.

'Taiki will keep them in line,' Nene reiterates.

She, too, knows those two came to an understanding too that day.

'What about blood?'

She shrugs. 'I'll work that out when I'm there.'

For a fleeting moment, Akari envisions going along – but she can't. She's got four little brothers to look out for still, and one might be ready to leave the nest but the other three are too small. Not to mention she doubts her parents will appreciate the idea.

'Look me up when you're back in Japan,' she settles on, finally. She feels vulnerable, asking that, but it's better than what she can ask, what she wants to ask.

Nene's not quite right about her being able to punch her problems in the face. Anger's much less complicated than love.

'Keep in contact until then?' Nene asks hopefully. She sounds equally vulnerable, somehow. Lonely, even though she's the one who's chosen to leave a place she could have had so many new friends in. But that's Nene. And Akari… she's figuring her role out along the way: reign Taiki in (like he'll reign Kiriha in), but for Nene its to drag her into company. And she'll be selfish sometimes and be the entirety of that company. Just sometimes though, for now. Or maybe forever. Because soulmates didn't mean shutting the rest of the world out. There'd be no room for family and friends then, and family came first for the both of them.

'You haven't met my little brothers yet, have you?' Akari muses, again before her brain can quite catch up. 'Or my parents, for that matter. Come over once you're an idol.'

Nene picks it up quicker this time. 'Is that the prerequisite or the promise?'


	9. 9

**A/N:** I'm sorry for those last two lines. It just...happened.

* * *

 **the keeper**  
9.

It's a cutthroat industry but Nene makes it. It's two years before she comes back to Japan though, and things have changed since then.

Akari's no longer in Shinonome, for one, but they've kept in contact so Nene's well aware of that. She still goes to Shinonome first, though, because Yuu is there and family always comes first.

Taiki's still there too. Kiriha's not. He's in America. On "international recruitment", he likes to call it, but also because it's a pretty different education system over there and if they're going to change worldwide laws, then they have to know the world. Maybe he'll get into the White House one day. As long as he doesn't get into any trouble doing it, Akari's not really fussed. And he and Taiki talk as often as Akari talks with him, so she knows they're keeping each other out of trouble to a degree. Best she can hope for, probably. It'd be nice if he came back to America soon, though. Or Taiki went over there for university or something.

Funnily enough, he's settled on business management. Akari can't imagine any business run by the Taiki of her childhood to do well, but he's been changing. Learning. Maybe he'll manage it after all.

Nene made it to stardom after all.

She looks different, when they meet again. The photos don't do the changes justice… but she _is_ an idol. A lot of time and effort goes into those photos so of course a little of something natural is lost along the way. This Nene's got no makeup on and her hair is loose and she's in casual clothes (or as casual as she gets, which is equivalent to the sort of clothes Akari wears to dinner with fussy aunts).

But Akari's not in a tracksuit this time so she's changed a bit too. Her hair's still in pigtails held by scruncies but she's swapped out the green ones for blue (after a few in between, because scrunchies just don't last that long). So some things have changed and some things haven't and that's an apt way to describe growing up. It's been two years, after all.

'You look pale.' And that's another thing, because of course Nene hasn't been getting the best blood on the market for the last two years. It'd be even harder, she thinks, when Nene's still keeping under the radar as far as her vampire status is concerned. 'A few more years,' she'd said. She's waiting for all them to be adults and ready to change the world and that's still a little off, at the moment. Another three or four years. But they can wait, while they change the world in smaller ways. Nene has vampire friends in Hong Kong and she's taken a bit of a risk by seeking them out, but they won't get anywhere without taking risks and she's not hiding because she's a coward. She's hiding so she can make the biggest impact, because who knows if there are better placed celebrities with the vampire virus out there (and they really need a better name for it; maybe Ren would become a scientist after all…) and the influence of politicians and celebrities are only going to grow with the ever-expanding social media.

Sometimes she wonders where she fits into it all, but becoming a nurse is a good plan as well. She's got some practice in already, with Taiki and her little brothers and Nene…

'You'll look cute in uniform,' Nene muses, appraising her. 'You might have trouble with the cap.'

'Maybe,' Akari muses, touching her scrunchies. Yeah, those aren't going to fit under the cap. 'I might be going for buns by then. Or a shorter cut.'

'A shorter cut suits. Don't know about the bun, though.'

And Nene looks so serious, considering, that Akari has to laugh. 'This is some years down the track. Right now, I want to catch up on the two years we've lost, and I'm sure you do too.'

Nene grinned. 'Would I be showing my vampire side by saying how much I missed your taste?'

'You could just kiss me instead.'


End file.
